Proposed GV Cultural Centre

Posted by Colin Heggie on Sep 18, 2018

Tannis Nelson, RDNO Community Services Manager, was hosted by Leigh Hewer. She described the proposed Greater Vernon Cultural Centre, intended for the City of Vernon’s former Coldstream Hotel site. The emerging plan is to accommodate our museum, art gallery, & a +/-150 – 200 seat multi-purpose performance venue (& perhaps other features) in a +/-57,000 gross square foot three-story building using roughly one-third of the site. The remainder of the site would be intended for mixed residential / commercial development. The projected $40m cost would be split between $15m in government grants, donations & partnership funding, plus $25m in borrowing approved through an Oct 20, 2018 referendum accompanying our civic elections. A loan of this magnitude is expected to increase taxes for a residential property with an average assessment by about $12 net per annum, following the 2020 retirement of debt associated with Kal Tire Place & the Performing Arts Centre. Questions were raised about costs to non-residential taxpayers, the additional or competing costs of a new pool & RCMP building, the suitability of the downtown site, & whether there’s a “vision” to go along with the proposed new facilities.